We learned about the idea of Universal design and how it can be used to show the largest range of people regardless of their backgrounds. This form of design considers an environment that meets the needs of all individuals using that space. We aim towards a type of design that is accessible and pleasing to everyone and not just a minority or majority group.
During the lecture, we discussed how people design for “average” and described a generally shared standard as a fully-abled white, middle-class male. In what cases do we actually design with this “white, middle-class male with no impediments” in mind? Has this standard changed or evolved over time and is this assumption outdated?
For as long as America has been a country, the white male has been the standard and dominant figure for models in design. As society changes and culture evolves, is the white male with no impediments still squarely in place as the standard of design today? What it means to design is different than what it meant to design a decade ago. In recent years, companies are taking in an inclusive approach to hiring, representation, and models. Recent adverts embrace female empowerment; However, how much of this recent push is genuine and how much is capitalizing on female empowerment being on trend right now? In many cases the latter seems to be true. Every June, we see stores in malls wheel out rainbow apparel for the month to cash in on Pride Month only to be silent when presented the opportunity to enact real change in support of that group. Does adopting a one size fits all mentality in place of our current one size fits most mentality make sense within the binds of capitalism? How profitable is it to design for ALL people? It could be argued that capitalizing on the “trendiness” of diversity is necessary only when it is broadened enough to be sold to a wide audience. This business of inclusion is a topic that designers face which becomes tricky in finding a balance between diversity and profitability.
We began to talk about CMU Design and its relationship with diversity and inclusion. We both agreed that the school seems to make an effort to connect with the city of Pittsburgh and has shown an interest in making itself a bigger part of the community. While the school tries to include the community, how good of a job can we do without having experience actually being from this area. At least in our class, none of the students are from the city or even a nearby area. Is it enough to design with certain demographics in mind if they are not involved in the design process at all? In some ways we are making designs that do not fully encapsulate the people we are designing for, but rather creating an echo chamber of design decisions.
